Issues

Stage Details

Legislation -
Bill Passed
(Senate)
(79-15) -
May 4, 1993(Key vote)

Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

Vote to pass a bill that gives the Environmental Protection Agency departmental status and renames it the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Highlights:

Eliminates the Council on Environmental Quality and transfers its functions to the Secretary of the DEP.

Creates the Bureau of Environmental Statistics to compile, analyze, and publish environmental statistics on the nature, source, and amount of pollutants in the environment and the effects of the pollutants on citizens.

Establishes the Office of Environmental Justice to determine if new environmental policies are helping individuals who live in high pollution areas, collect information on pollutant effects on health, identify areas which are exposed to high levels of pollution, and develop a plan "ensure equality in environmental protection".

Requires the President to recommend to Congress within 90 days of the bill's enactment allowing a single federal agency to make technical determinations on whether wetlands can be used for agricultural purposes.